Introducing This Year's Media Bad Guy: 'The Super PAC'

As I watch the Super PACbecome a super big issue in these debates and primaries leading up to the 2012 election, I have to confess part of me is rolling my eyes at the new bad guy in politics -- the Super PAC. If this posting were a movie, Super PAC would be really shady. He'd have dark glasses, greasy hair, and wear an ill-fitting Mafioso style suit. I don't know. Maybe Danny DeVito should play him?

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I do have some limited experience with a PAC. I was tapped to finish out the role of Executive Director for a statewide PAC here in Missouri, when the previous Director was hired to do advocacy work for a pro-stem cell organization, six months before the elections in 2010. It was my toe-dip in politics and I was extremely fortunate to work for a very fair and just person, who is one of the most moderate and temperate voices in Republican politics.

I guess I can say firsthand, from my limited experience, that not all PACs are run by ex-campaign staffers or nefarious money men who won't throw a punch in public. I can say that because I was an outsider when I got hired. And I worked for an indisputably good guy in politics. And our PAC money was used to help several other good guys get elected. Good people, who, like Mitt Romney, were successful in their careers and got involved because they were concerned and believed they had the skills to improve things. They may have differed in their views on stem cell research and abortion, but they all agreed that job creation was our top priority. And yes, we helped pay for TV commercials to help them get elected so they could create those jobs. Why is that a bad thing? Um, hello? It isn't.

So, while Newt Gingrich accuses Mitt Romney of "pious baloney" in the debates, and tries to blow up the "has he or hasn't he seen the video" question, I think we should take a collective breath. I'm sure Romney has seen that commercial by now, with all the noise coming from the Gingrich camp. I would take a look, too. Wouldn't you?